Item Number: 20
City Council / Board of Directors
Written Communications
Meeting of: April 21, 2026
Submitted By:
Jennifer Thompson, City Clerk
Subject:
Discussion and possible action to consider an adjustment to the City Council compensation
Recommendation:
Any action is at the discretion of Your Honorable City Council.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item at this time.
Background:
At the City Council meeting of November 19, 2024, it was moved by then Council Member Jones, with all members except Council Member Gomez voting in approval, to place a recurring item on the agenda during the budget cycle of every even year for the Council to consider and decide whether it wishes to adjust its compensation in keeping with the current law.
Discussion:
This item is being presented to Council so that Council can further consider whether it wishes to adjust its compensation.
Victorville Municipal Code (VMC) Section 2.16.020 specifies the salary that is received by its City Council members. Said salary is currently $1,900 per month. Since being set at $500.00 per month in 1993 based on the City’s then-current population, the City Council’s salary has periodically been increased using the five percent (5%) per calendar year formula in Government Code Section 36516. This formula was adopted by ordinance and is codified in VMC Section 2.16.030. The last salary increase became effective in December of 2024, after three new City Council members were sworn into office following the November 2024 general election.
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Government Code Section 36516 states the following:
36516. (a) (1) A city council may enact an ordinance providing that each member of the city council shall receive a salary based on the population of the city as set forth in paragraph (2).
(2) The salaries approved by ordinance under paragraph (1) shall be as follows:
(A) In cities up to and including 35,000 in population, up to and including nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) per month.
(B) In cities over 35,000 up to and including 50,000 in population, up to and including one thousand two hundred seventy-five dollars ($1,275) per month.
(C) In cities over 50,000 up to and including 75,000 in population, up to and including one thousand six hundred dollars ($1,600) per month. (D) In cities over 75,000 up to and including 150,000 in population, up to and including one thousand nine hundred dollars ($1,900) per month. (E) In cities over 150,000 up to and including 250,000 in population, up to and including two thousand five hundred fifty dollars ($2,550) per month.
(F) In cities over 250,000 population, up to and including three thousand two hundred dollars ($3,200) per month.
(3) For the purposes of this subdivision, the population of a city shall be determined by the last preceding federal census, or a subsequent census, or estimate validated by the Department of Finance.
(4) The salary of council members may be increased beyond the amount provided in this subdivision by an ordinance or by an amendment to an ordinance, but the amount of the increase shall not exceed the greater of either of the following:
(A) An amount equal to 5 percent for each calendar year from the operative date of the last adjustment of the salary in effect when the ordinance or amendment is enacted.
(B) An amount equal to inflation since January 1, 2024, based upon the California Consumer Price Index, which shall not exceed 10 percent for each calendar year.
(5) No ordinance shall be enacted or amended to provide automatic future increases in salary.
Currently, based on the US Census, the Victorville population as of July 1, 2024, is 140,721 and the Department of Finance has the Victorville population as of January 1, 2025 as 141,013. If the City Council so desires, they could elect to authorize a salary adjustment as outlined in Section 4 above. The calculations for Subsection A and B are as follows:
(A) $1,900 x 5% = $95 total salary $1,995 (2025)
$1,995 x 5% = $99.75 total salary $2,094.75 (2026)
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(B) $1,900 x 2.5% = $47.50 total salary $1,947.50 (2025 March-to-March) $1,947.50 x 3.1% = $60.37 total salary $2,007.87(2026 March-to- March)
If the City Council desires to move forward with an increase, staff could prepare the associated Ordinance to effectuate the increase and present the item at subsequent meetings. It should be noted that pursuant to Government Code Section 36516.5, any new salary amount will be effective as of the first City Council member pay period that commences on or after the date new Council Members are sworn into office in December, following the certification of the November 2026 election result.
Staff remains available for any questions or comments you might have.
Prepared By:
Jennifer Thompson, City Clerk
Attachments: None